Intersections in youth work education pathways and practices

Youth work as a professional practice has a diverse characteristic across Europe and the same applies to the formal education of youth workers or related professions. This seminar aims to offer a mutual learning space to explore together the similarities and differences of how practice and education are connected in various countries particularly showcasing practices from Hungary.

Objectives:

• Showcase and reflect on practices of cooperation between youth work and higher education sector,

• foster partnerships and cooperation between actors of youth work practice and youth work education,

• highlight the role of Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps projects in youth workers’ educational pathways.

Relevance/Context

Recent years have seen the emergence of a few projects such as “Among Others: Non-Formal Learning in Higher Education Developing Intercultural Competence”, "Time to show off”, and its follow-up “Focus: Learning” and a new SNAC called “Education & Training of Youth Workers” is being launched at the moment. 

Other institutions, such as the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership engaged in extensive research projects such as the “Youth worker education in Europe. Policies, structures, practices” (April 2020).

One of the proposed measures of the Final Declaration of the 3rd European Youth Work Convention is to develop a shared vision of qualification for youth workers, to ensure the quality of certification processes both in non-formal education and learning, and formal education. With the seminar, we aim to contribute to this discourse by offering a platform to meet, reflect and share practices, possibilities with a goal to enhance international cooperation between the members of the community of practice.

Profile of participants

We are looking for participants with various backgrounds, such as:

• lecturers/teachers/educators of youth and/or social work, social pedagogy, leisure studies, community education and/or coordination education programs and other related fields

• those actors who are developing curricula, policy developers/makers, youth researchers with a particular interest in youth work education, 

• youth workers, community workers, coordinators in youth organizations,

• National Agency representatives who are keen on fostering cooperation on a national or international level.

By applying to this Seminar, the applicant claims to be:

• aware of the health risks that he/she takes concerning his/her participation in the activity,
• aware that the hosting National Agency does not take responsibility for vaccination and testing of participants linked to their travel to and from the activity venue (costs of testing may be covered by the sending National Agencies, concerning this, please contact your National Agency),
• obliged to get updated prior to the activity about safety regulations and restrictions in their own country about travelling abroad and back,
• ready to commit to the respective safety rules and restrictions of the hosting country.

N.B.! The organisers will monitor the development of the ongoing Covid19-pandemic, and according to that, if the situation requires it, the activity might be postponed. In case the activity can be realised as planned, the travel, health and safety recommendations in the participating countries will be fully respected. All the participants will be accommodated in single rooms, masks will be used when and where required, and necessary sanitising equipment and measures will be arranged. More information will be provided directly to the selected participants.

Participants should arrive in Budapest on 30th November in the afternoon and depart on 3rd December (anytime).